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Background: Studies in both animal models and in premature born adults suggest impaired development of the cholinergic basal forebrain (cBF) after premature birth [1-3]; however, these studies focused on local cBF changes only, ignoring effects on cBF connectivity. We hypothesized aberrant functional connectivity (FC) of ongoing cBF blood oxygenation fluctuations in premature-born adults. Methods: Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to determine whole brain seed connectivity from bilateral anterior and posterior cBF [4] in a large and prospectively collected cohort of 79 very premature-born adults (< 32 weeks of gestation and/or birth weight <1500 g, VP/VLBW) and 96 full-term born (FT) controls at 26 years of age. Group comparisons were performed with sex, scanner and cBF volume as covariates. Results: While anterior cBF FC was significantly (p < 0,001 uncorrected, cluster size >10) decreased in the anterior cingulate cortex (Fig. 1), posterior cBF FC was significantly increased in the left superior frontal gyrus, left superior temporal gyrus and middle temporal gyrus (Fig. B). Discussion: Prematurity impacts cBF connectivity distinctively for anterior and posterior parts. It is unclear whether cBF volume loss interferes with these findings. Conclusions: Results demonstrate impaired connectivity of the cBF into the forebrain in premature-born adults. Data suggest impaired cBF connectivity development in prematurity.